


Normal

by Burgie



Series: SSOWeek Round 2 [2]
Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Star Stable
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 13:45:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7107409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fics for ssoweek not restricted to the one character.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Echo

Jessica walked to her locker and opened the door in search of her notebook. The more she found out about her target, the better she would be able to pull this off. And the less likely she would be to fail, like Sabine had. It should have been easy to take out a teenaged girl in high school, especially one whose weaknesses were as glaringly obvious as Anne’s, but she couldn’t be too cocky. That had been Sabine’s downfall.

Jessica frowned as she read over her notes and wrote down her latest finding. Apparently, Anne thought of herself as a princess and many of the other girls called her this. Boys, too. And not always in a good way. But the principle was the same.

She scoffed as she closed her notebook. Anne was no princess. Not even an echo of a princess. Princesses could lead, they didn’t just sit around basking in the attention of their admirers. At least, according to her. There were princesses who did that, but Jess hated them. They were just easier to kill. Seduce them, maybe bed them if that’s what it took, and then stick the knife in when they were nice and pliant. Or just seduce them to get information. And then kill them.

Whatever the reason for getting close to the pretty little princesses, the end result was always the same. A gleam of white teeth and green eyes (or blue, depending on what she felt like having as her eye colour), maybe a scream, and a nice red splatter of blood across their satin bedsheets.

Apparently, though, Jess wasn’t to kill this one. Sangordha had forbidden her. And she always obeyed her father’s orders. It was probably a good thing, too- Princess Anne had a type, and she was definitely not it. Not even her tight clothes would help her here. She’d wrote down notes on that, too. Anne only liked girls who looked a little like guys.

“Oh, don’t you have someone to carry your books?” Anne was suddenly standing near Jessica, close enough to read over her shoulder if she’d had the book open.

“No,” said Jessica, turning around to glare at her. “I’m not that useless. Unlike some people.” 

She put her notebook back in her locker, closed it, and walked away with a flip of her ponytail. She suddenly wished that she’d decided to have green eyes today. Blue eyes were too similar to her target’s. They made her look like an echo of her. And she most definitely did not want that.


	2. Race

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa wins her first (and so far only) championship medal

Louisa breathed deeply and tried to get a better grip on Lemoncake’s reigns. She wasn’t very good at championship races normally, usually getting maybe fourth or eighth. She normally only entered them with friends or her club, but this time she was alone. The others were either at the other championships in Fort Pinta or otherwise doing other things. Still, though, she stood in the spot where the club usually stood while she waited for the groups to be created. She watched the timer count down and hummed to her music. 

At last, the groups were created. Louisa didn’t take notice of the group that she was put in, just assuming that it was group one like usual. She listened to the conversations going on around her but didn’t pay much attention. It was just background noise.

“Are you nervous?” she asked Lemon.

“No,” he replied. “I feel confident. It must be this new tack.”

“I know, right?” said Louisa with a grin. “Pink looks good on you, boy.”

Her little silver toyger mewed at Louisa from the saddlebag, and she petted his head. He never minded the bumpiness of a ride with Lemon, no matter how fast it was. He was a little trooper like that.

When the thirty second countdown was announced, Louisa chose a song on her iPod and tried to relax. Around her, horses pawed the ground anxiously and riders expressed their worries about competing.

And then they were off. Unlike several other times, Louisa followed the correct championship trail and leapt over the fence with ease. The horses in the paddock watched the riders pass rather placidly. But the Jarlaheim Stables race passed through the paddock too, so of course they were used to it.

At paddock island, Louisa decided to follow the riders through the horse arena for the first time. The riders in the arena would slow down the other competitors, so it wouldn’t matter if she was slowed down too. It was surprisingly easy, and Lemon vaulted the fence with ease before tearing down the stone road and across the bridge.

The road into Jarlaheim was usually a problem, but not today. Lemon responded to Louisa’s every thought, and she grinned as they rounded the lightpost in Jarlaheim and several other riders crashed or took the turn too wide.

Louisa decided against cutting through Jarlaheim field, knowing that the apple crates would trip her up, and instead urged Lemon on around the field. She could see the finish line ahead of her, and knew that most of the other riders were still behind in Jarlaheim.

“Ha, I think we came third,” she said, grinning and patting Lemon’s neck as they finally pulled up. “Good job, boy.”

They did better than that.

“Second!” Lemon exclaimed triumphantly, and pranced in place. “I knew we were good but not that good.”

“I can’t believe it!” Louisa squealed, clapping her hands in excitement. “Come on, let’s go get your medal.” She let Lemon walk to the mailbox in Jarlaheim while she took her phone out of her pocket and typed a message to the team. Her hands were shaking but her fingers found the keys easily.

Her hands were still shaking when she attached the medal to Lemoncake’s bridle. 

“I have to take a photo of this for my blog,” she grinned. She dismounted and took a photo of Lemon showing off his new medal, grinning. And to think that just the other day she’d been complaining that she only had the fishing medals.


	3. Fashion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne talks to Rarity while she waits for the others to find a way back to Jorvik from Equestria.

The land of Equestria was a strange one, certainly. The occupants were all so small compared to the human newcomers, yet the architecture looked oddly human. Most of it was cute bordering on tacky, but Anne had to admit that the clothing boutique was rather cute.

“Here we are!” her pony guide announced as she pushed open the front door. “Welcome to my home-slash-business.” She turned to Anne and grinned, her eyes twinkling like dark blue sapphires.

“It’s very nice,” said Anne. She had to duck her head a little to get in, but once in she could stand comfortably in the main room. “Is this where you work?”

“Oh, I do a bit of work everywhere,” said Rarity. “There is my inspiration room, the room where I keep my supplies, here, and occasionally I do some work in my bedroom. Mostly out here or in my inspiration room, though, they’re bigger.”

“And what kind of fashion do you ponies wear?” asked Anne. Honestly, it was still more than a little bizarre that these equines sometimes wore clothes. The vast majority were nude, though, or at least those she’d seen were.

“Well, it depends on the tastes of the pony in question, but I largely make dresses,” said Rarity. “I can show you some if you like?”

“Yes please,” said Anne. She had to do something while she waited for Alex and Linda to figure something out with the princesses.

The white unicorn led Anne into her inspiration room, which was extremely cluttered.

“Don’t you find it hard to work in this mess?” asked Anne. Fabrics and various gems were strewn over every surface, mostly the floor.

“No,” said Rarity. “I know where everything is. We call it organised chaos.” She giggled and then lit her horn with a blue light to open a wardrobe.

Anne just called it a mess. She noticed a chest overflowing with gems and jewellery, and frowned. Surely they couldn’t have been real gems. This pony didn’t look all that wealthy, otherwise she’d live in a mansion or some other place of luxury. Not her own business.

“Are those real?” asked Anne, pointing at the gems.

“Hmm? Oh yes, I found them all with the help of Spike,” said Rarity. “Many of my clients request for gems to be on their outfits.”

“You must make a lot of money, then,” said Anne. “But then why do you still live here?”

“Why, darling, this is my home,” said Rarity, eyes growing wide in shock. “Why ever would I leave?”

“For surroundings more suited to your taste and stature,” said Anne.

“I don’t think so,” said Rarity. She smiled. “Ponyville is my home. Yes, I do so love Manehatten and Canterlot and all of the other big cities, but all of my friends and family are here. I couldn’t ever stay away.”

“I suppose it is harder to keep in contact over long distances here,” said Anne. “You don’t seem to have mobile phones or internet or anything.”

“Yes, and a scroll every so often is nothing compared to being able to see your friends every day,” said Rarity. “But here, look at these dresses. Perhaps I can make you one if we have time.”

“But I don’t have any local currency,” said Anne. “I couldn’t accept that.”

“Darling, it’s nothing! It will be a gift, from one fashionista to another,” said Rarity with a wink. “Please, it would be an honour to make a dress for an entirely new creature.”

“I don’t know,” said Anne. “Won’t it take too long?”

“There is nothing stopping me from sending it to you through the portal once we get it back open,” said Rarity. “You will be the talk of the town when you get back, I promise you that.”

“Well… okay,” said Anne. “Do you measure with clothes on or clothes off?” She found herself blushing but she wasn’t sure why.

“Well you don’t wear a dress over other clothes,” said Rarity with a giggle.

“I wear it over underwear,” said Anne. “You ponies don’t have that.”

“Yes we do,” said Rarity, her own cheeks tingeing pink. “It is more intimate attire, though.”

Well, that just made it more awkward. But Anne did want this pony to make her a dress, especially if it would have gems on it. It would be eye-catching for sure. She would be the belle of every ball.

“Okay,” she said. “That will make things more awkward but I want this dress.” She laughed and undressed, noticing as she did that Rarity turned away to collect some things and give her some privacy.

When Rarity took Anne’s measurements, she wore a pair of red-framed glasses on her nose and chewed her lip in concentration, humming a little tune. The tape measure danced around in the air, twining around various parts of Anne’s body as it was required, and Rarity glanced at them before writing down the measurements in a notebook.

While she worked, Rarity also gossiped.

“So,” she said, “do you have a special someone? Or whatever you call them in your world?”

“We call them boyfriends or girlfriends or partners,” said Anne. “And yes. You’ve probably met her.” She didn’t have to hide her secret here. Nobody from her world was here, nor would her secret escape from here.

“Oh, your leader?” Rarity guessed. “She seems a little brash from what I saw of her.”

“She is but she’s completely different with me,” said Anne with a grin. “And what about you? Do you have a special someone?”

“Special somepony,” Rarity corrected. “And yes. It seems that we have something in common, my special somepony is a humble farmer. Hardly appropriate for a high society lady such as myself.”

“Do you have the same problems here that we do?” asked Anne. “You two are both females, after all.”

“Not in Ponyville,” said Rarity with more than a hint of pride in her voice. “That’s part of the reason that I’m staying, if I’m honest. Some parts of Equestria are less tolerant than here.”

“And your parents don’t mind?” asked Anne.

“No,” said Rarity, beginning to pin pieces of fabric together. “My parents are actually more middle than upper class. It is true that the more upper class ponies require their sons to choose mares and their daughters to choose stallions. Some even run away from home, or they are disowned entirely.”

“I sometimes feel like that too,” said Anne. She lifted her arms so that Rarity could pin the fabric up in a vague dress shape around her. “I have to keep my relationship a secret and pretend to be interested in other boys. I do like boys too but I’m in a relationship. And it hurts poor Alex so much when she sees me flirting with other boys.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” said Rarity, tearing up. “Well, you are always welcome in Equestria if you two ever need somewhere to go to be together without needing to hide.”

“Thank you,” said Anne. “I have the feeling that Twilight or one of the other princesses might be extending the same invitation to Alex. Right now, we go to Pandoria to be alone.”

“Pandoria? I think that I’ve heard of that somewhere,” said Rarity. She levitated a few gems up, then decided to attach some golden topazes to the dress in the shape of a sun.

“Twilight seemed familiar with the name too,” said Anne. “Maybe Celestia or Luna visited there once.”

“That is highly likely,” said Rarity. She rolled the tape measure up and set it down with a smile, levitating up the mostly-finished dress. “There we are, now it just needs to be sewn. I could hold it together with magic, but that is very exhausting to maintain. What do you think of it so far?”

Anne appraised the dress with a smile. It certainly was beautiful. Rarity was a skilled seamstress, a true master of her craft. The dress was coloured with the same pastel shades that composed Celestia’s mane, falling to the ground with some ruffles here and there. It would swish around her ankles when she walked, and Rarity had marked out with magic where golden thread would be stitched. The gems sat on her chest in the shape of a sun, with gold thread weaving around them to resemble the shape of the Sun symbol.

“It’s beautiful,” said Anne, feeling the silky fabric. “I’ll turn heads for sure in this. But how did you know what the Sun symbol looked like?”

“Oh, I just put it in the shape of Celestia’s cutie mark,” said Rarity. “I didn’t know that it was the same as one of your symbols.”

“Strange coincidence,” said Anne. “But nonetheless a good one. When will it be completed?”

“Oh, it might be done by tomorrow,” said Rarity. “I want to put some special gold fabric underneath the dress, and I have to find that first.”

“Maybe you would be able to find it better if your room wasn’t such a mess,” said Anne with a laugh.

“Perhaps,” said Rarity. “I know I put it around here somewhere, though. Feel free to explore the rest of Ponyville while you wait. I hope for your sake that the portal home is found before the dress is completed.”

Anne hoped so too. But with Alex, Twilight, Linda, Celestia, and Luna working on it, maybe it wouldn’t be as impossible as it seemed.


	4. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne practices dressage and then spends some time with her girlfriend.

To an outsider, Anne may have looked like someone who wouldn’t set foot in any farm-like environment. But anyone who knew her knew that she loved horses, especially her dear Concorde, more than anything else. So she enjoyed being at Jorvik Stables in her spare time, practicing for dressage competitions or even just spending time with her horse.

Today was a practice day for her. She arrived at the stables as soon as school had let out, reminding her chauffeur to pick her up in a few hours. She almost skipped into the stables in her eagerness but, remembering her dignity, she instead walked until she reached the stables. Only then did she drop her prim and proper act and run to pat and hug her precious horse.

“Hello Concorde, you precious thing,” she cooed at him. “Are you ready to practice? We might even get an adoring audience like we usually do.”

Concorde was definitely ready for practice, as always. After getting changed into her stable clothes (her mother didn’t like her good clothes smelling of horses), Anne saddled up Concorde and led him out into the small arena where they usually practiced.

They started out with just a few laps around the arena to warm up, and then they moved onto Anne‘s favourite equestrian discipline. She stood beside Concorde and watched while Mr Herman set up the dressage course. She could have set one up for herself like Linda did with her show jumping courses, but Mr Herman had offered and Anne didn’t like to get her hands dirty when someone else was offering to do it.

Anne heard footsteps approaching behind her and turned to see who it was. She’d intended to ask them for a bottle of water, but her request changed to something else when she saw who it was.

“Hello, Alex,” she said to the other girl. “Did you come to watch me practice?” She could feel the butterflies in her stomach and oh it was such a good feeling. Surely her palms were only sweating because of the heat and not at all because of the proximity of Alex.

“Yeah,” said Alex. “I tried to watch you from over there where I was working on fixing something but then I saw you and hurt myself and came over here to watch you instead.”

“I hope you didn’t hurt yourself too badly,” said Anne. “Maybe I should kiss it better.”

“Yeah, if you wanna kiss these grubby hands,” said Alex with a laugh as she held her hands up. Anne glanced around but there was only Herman so she took hold of Alex’s hands and kissed them both.

Alex blushed and muttered something as she looked down at the ground.

“What was that?” asked Anne, leaning in closer to her.

“I said that you’re being awfully forward all of a sudden,” said Alex. “So much for keeping this a secret.”

“One of the perks of coming here early is that there are not many people around,” said Anne. “There’s only Mr Herman and a few other people. Most of them already know, the rest don’t know my family anyway so there’s no fear of word getting out to my mother.”

“Oh, good,” said Alex. “So I can do this.” Alex closed the distance between them with a kiss, awkwardly keeping her filthy hands by her sides.

“These are my stable clothes,” said Anne. “You can get these dirty, Alex. Mr Herman has them washed for me and keeps them here.”

“Alright,” said Alex. “I’ll just try not to touch your hair.”

Anne giggled and kissed Alex, drawing her into her arms and running her hands over Alex’s gloriously thick, gold-red hair. Alex’s hair was surprisingly soft for someone who had no sisters, but maybe her mother shared her hair care products with her.

“I love your hair,” said Anne when the kiss ended. She kept Alex in her arms, enjoying the feeling of Alex’s hands still clutching onto the back of her top in the middle of her back.

“I’ll keep using mum’s haircare products, then,” said Alex with a laugh. “I borrowed them last night but she’s been trying to get me to use them for ages.”

“Thank her for me,” said Anne. She wanted to stay there with Alex longer, maybe play with her hair a little and have her hair played with in return, but right now these stolen moments were all they had.

“The course is set up,” Mr Herman announced, giving them space.

“You should get back to practice,” said Alex, pulling away from her.

“Yes, you’re right. Will you watch me?” asked Anne.

“Try and stop me,” said Alex. She grinned and walked over to stand outside the arena, leaning on the fence.


	5. Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa helps out some newbies

Whenever Louisa visited Moorland, she always felt… followed.

“How many?” she murmured to Snowghost.

“Three I think,” her fjord replied, turning her head to glance behind them.

“Oh great,” said Louisa with a sigh. “If I didn’t have races and dailies to do here…”

“What do you want to do?” asked Snowghost. “We can always come back later tonight when there are less people around.”

“I don’t know,” said Louisa. “It’ll be rude to just run away from them. Although…” She spurred Snowy into a canter, wondering if her little shadows would leave if she did. 

They did not.

“So they’re definitely following you,” said Snowy. “We can try going to Silverglade.”

“No,” Louisa decided. “I’ll be nice. I’ll show these ducklings some stars.”

Louisa spent the next few minutes silently leading the newcomers to the various stars hidden around Moorland. She’d already collected them all some time ago, and she still remembered where they all were. While the other girls collected stars, Louisa collected followers. What had started as a group of four quadrupled in size.

“Thank you,” said one of the girls when they’d found all ten stars in Moorland. 

“You’re welcome,” said Louisa. “I’ve done everything so I might as well help those who haven’t.”

“You made a good choice,” said Snowy as the other girls all dispersed to do their own things.

“Helping shadows is how I got some of my greatest friends here,” said Louisa. “Remember when Maggie first came to Moorland?”

“I remember,” said Snowy. “You used to just help her out and hang out with her in Moorland in Fort Pinta until her parents sent her money to grant her access to the rest of the island.”

Louisa smiled as she rode to Fort Pinta. She didn’t get any more shadows on the way there, for which she was grateful.

But that only lasted until she got to Fort Pinta. At least one person followed her around the fountain, probably drawn by her white fjord or the golden star that marked her out as a Star Rider. Or her level. Or all of the above.

Personally, Louisa didn’t mind having the other girls shadowing her. It made her feel popular. And special, important. In a normal sense, not the magical sense. Sometimes, the other girls wanted to race with her. Other times, they just wanted someone to hang out and talk with.

When Louisa rode back home to the fishing village, she smiled at the memory of helping those other girls and keeping them company. Not everyone could have money to spend on becoming a Star Rider. Maybe some of them would become her greatest friends. That was a lovely thought.


	6. Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louisa meets a fairy in Greendale

Of all the forests in Jorvik, Louisa liked Greendale the most. The place just felt magical, and she couldn’t explain why. There were no runestones here. Maybe it was the fact that she’d found Starshine here. Or the atmosphere. Or the rings of mushrooms. She hadn’t thought about fairies for a long time. For a while, she’d even stopped believing in them. 

“I wonder if the stories are true,” she said aloud to her newest steed Firesoul. “If you step in a fairy ring, fairies are supposed to appear. Or maybe that’s just if you destroy or break a fairy ring.”

Firesoul apparently decided to test that theory. He raised a hoof and brought it down over the edge of the ring, keeping it just above a mushroom.

“Stop!” a voice cried out from one of the trees. Louisa looked around but couldn’t find the owner of the voice.

“Who said that?” she asked. “Who’s there?” It could very well be an animal, yet a part of her couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, a real live fairy had just spoken to her.

“Up here,” said the voice, and Louisa looked up to see a stern-faced tree sprite glaring down at her. Her skin looked like the bark of the tree that she was in, and her hair was a green that blended in with the rest of the green forest. Her eyes, though, were a bright yellow as they glared at her.

“Theory confirmed,” said Louisa silently to Firesoul. He nickered in agreement and placed his hoof back carefully on the ground.

“Honestly, I’d expect a normal human and their stupid steeds to trample a fairy ring, but for a fae horse to do it is just stupid,” said the tree sprite. She jumped out of the tree and landed primly in the middle of the ring.

“Fae horse?” asked Louisa. “Firesoul is just a normal horse.” _Who can talk_ she silently added, but that didn’t seem like a good thing to say.

“Seriously?” said the tree sprite. “How can you not know a bloody fae horse when you see one? You have magic, I can feel it.”

“Sorry,” said Louisa, “Ferdinand said that Firesoul is a Morgan. A really pretty one, too.” She patted his mane.

“Ugh, those idiots.” The tree sprite tossed her hair out of her face, and Louisa only now noticed that it was leaves. “Why do humans so love to take animals out of their natural habitats?”

“Sorry but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Louisa, feeling more and more confused as the situation progressed.

“Firesoul is a good name for him, though,” said the tree sprite. “He does have a soul of fire, I guess you could say. Fae horses are all associated with a certain element and as such they have powers related to that element. Has he showed you his powers yet?”

“Uh, no,” said Louisa. “He’s a bit warmer than other horses but that’s it.”

“That’s one of his powers,” said the tree sprite. “He’ll reveal the rest of them to you in time.”

“He wasn’t someone else’s horse, was he?” asked Louisa. Surely magical horses didn’t just grow in the wild.

“No,” said the tree sprite. “Fae horses, once they choose an owner, bond to their owner for life. When their owner dies, they die with them. Firesoul was probably bought from a fae horse breeder and then resold. Unless Ferdinand breeds fae horses, which is… possible. I don’t know what they do up in those mountains other than breeding horse.”

“Cool,” said Louisa. “But did I make a mistake in bringing a fire fae horse to a forest?”

“No,” said the tree sprite. “This forest is so green that nothing could burn it. Good luck with your fae horse and remember not to trample fairy rings. You don’t want to get on the bad side of a fairy.”

“I’ll remember that,” said Louisa. “And thank you.” She looked down at Firesoul, and when she looked back up the tree sprite had disappeared. She hadn’t even got her name. Oh well.


	7. Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween on Jorvik is a bit different to Halloween everywhere else.

Jorvik wasn’t a very American place in some senses. But in others, it was so American that Louisa forgot that she wasn’t even in an American colony. At least, she assumed it was American. She’d never actually been there.

Halloween, though, she knew to be an American tradition. And Jorvik celebrated that. She remembered her sister back home buying bags full of lollies to hand out to kids coming trick-or-treating. And then there was the year when she’d gone trick-or-treating with some friends. Although it had really just been Louisa following a group of friends walking around the streets and visiting their friends and family. 

That last one wasn’t a very pleasant memory.

“Then why are you thinking about it?” asked Princess. “Stop thinking about being lonely and go be social. Emma and Maggie are going trick-or-treating.”

“I’m an adult,” said Louisa. “I don’t want to go with them. Unless I act like their chaperone or something.”

“No,” said Princess. She was lying on the mat in the lounge room, while Louisa sat on the lounge next to a large bowl of lollies. “And stop eating those, they’re for the kids.”

“Never,” said Louisa as she picked out another lolly. “It’s their fault that they’re coming too late.”

“Give me that,” said Princess. “You can sit on the veranda with it, it’s nice and warm still.” She tried to grab the bowl with her teeth but she failed. The edge of the bowl slipped out of her teeth and the whole thing flipped off the lounge.

Lollies went flying everywhere.

“Great job,” said Louisa. “Now I have to clean that up. I don’t want to get horse spit over all of them. People still have to eat them.”

She got up and scooped the bowl off the floor, then walked around the room in search of missing lollies. At least all of them were wrapped.

Picking up all of the lollies took forever, but Louisa took the bowl outside and sat it down on the veranda while she pulled a chair up to sit on. On second thoughts, she dragged the table up too.

“Kinda lonely out here on my own,” she called in to Princess. “Maybe I should call someone.”

“Don’t you dare!” Princess tried to dart through the door but only managed to wedge herself in the doorframe. She whinnied and pawed the ground angrily, shaking her head.

Louisa giggled at her stuck horse but made no move to get up and help her.

“I’m only joking,” said Louisa, still giggling. “I know that the Soulriders have to be extra vigilant tonight. Barriers between worlds being thinnest and all that.”

“Exactly,” said Princess. “Now, I’m going to try to get myself unstuck. Stop talking to me now, here comes someone.”

Louisa commended the children on their costumes and feigned fear at some of them (although one of the kids was dressed as a shadow seeker and she had to look twice to see that it was really just a kid in a costume). She handed out the lollies fairly, which meant just thrusting the bowl at the kids and telling them to take a handful. It was how she’d done it at home.

Emma and Maggie came to the house together, dressed as a wolf and a ghost respectively. Emma had decided to make it a club activity.

“Aww, you’re not wearing a costume,” said Maggie.

“Yeah,” said Louisa. “Just in case the other Soulriders need me, you know. I can’t exactly turn up to a battle in a witch outfit. They might get confused.”

“You could dress as a werewolf prom queen,” said Emma. “Then you won’t have to worry about your dress getting ruined.”

“Oh, if only I had an ounce of skill when it came to sewing,” said Louisa with a laugh. “Next year I’ll dress as that, though.” As long as the weird Jorvik magic or a stray witch didn’t make it real. She immediately discarded that thought. Evil beings with mind-reading powers might be listening and she did not want her friends to turn into monsters.

Fortunately, the rest of the night passed without incident. As soon as the clock struck 11pm, Louisa left the house in comfortable clothes that were easy to move in. She made sure to keep her wand (Elizabeth couldn’t convince her to call it a rune staff) and fragment close to her, putting them in the pockets of her jeans.

After saddling up Firesoul (a magic horse could only be a boon in a fight) and warming up her magic with a few practice shots at scarecrows, Louisa rode off to the coast to meet up with one of the patrolling Soulriders.

“Good, you made it,” said Alex. “Do you want to take Dino Valley? I’m worried that Dark Core will try something there.”

“Yep. Anything I should watch out for?” asked Louisa. “Firesoul will keep me warm so the cold won’t be a problem.”

“Yeah, actually,” said Alex. “Now, I don’t wanna scare you but I’ve heard that Dino Valley has wendigoes, yetis, ice spirits, and maybe the Ice Witch will be active.”

“That completely failed at not scaring me,” said Louisa. “But maybe Firesoul can keep the ice spirits away.”

“Sorry,” said Alex. “Halloween is actually scary when you’re fighting magic. Check in with Nic, he’ll know if there’s been any magical activity. For all I know, the wendigoes aren’t real. But if you’re really in trouble, I’ll come get you.”

“Thanks,” said Louisa. “We’ll meet back here at dawn?”

“No, we’ll meet you back at Valedale at dawn,” said Alex. “Good luck and stay safe.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” said Firesoul. “Things that love the cold tend to hate fire.”

“That’s true,” said Alex. “I’ll see you at dawn. May Aideen’s light protect you.”

Louisa had a feeling that it would.


End file.
